It
is history Tuesday and today I am going to tell you a little about a
German girl named Sophie Scholl, have you heard of her? I can tell
you I had not till I saw something on Facebook about her that
interested me enough to do a Goggle search and find out a bit more
about her.

She
was born in 1921 and was one of Germany’s most famous anti-Nazi
heroes, as a university student in Munich, Scholl, along with her
brother, Hans, and several friends, formed a non-violent, anti-Nazi
resistance group called the White Rose. The group ran a leaflet and
graffiti campaign calling on their fellow Germans to resist Hitler’s
regime.

At
the age of 12 she was required to join the Bund Deutscher Madel (
League of German Girls) but her initial enthusiasm gradually gave way
to strong criticism. She became aware of the dissenting political
views of her father and friends and even some teachers. Political
attitude started to play a big part in her choice of friends. In
1937 her brothers and some friends were arrested for participating in
the German Youth Movement and this left a strong impression on her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Youth_Movement

After
she left school in 1940 Sophie became a kindergarten teacher, she
chose this career hoping it would be recognised as an alternate to
the National Labour Service which was a prerequisite to be admitted
to the university. However, she was wrong as policy dictated that she
had to serve six months of auxiliary war service as a nursery teacher
in Blumberg. The military-like regimen of the Labour Service was what
caused her to change her views of the National Socialism and
eventually practice passive resistance.

The
graves of Hans Scholl,Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst in Perlach
Cemetery. The cemetery is adjacent to Stadelheim prison where the
White Rose members were executed.

Scholl
first became involved in resistance organising after learning of the
mass killings of Jews and reading an anti-Nazi sermon by Clemens
August Graf von Galen, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Münster. She was
deeply moved by the "theology of conscience" and declared,
"Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and
said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express
themselves as we did."

In
1943, Scholl and the other members of the White Rose were arrested by
the Gestapo for distributing leaflets at the University of Munich and
taken to Stadelheim Prison. After a short trial on February 22, 1943,
Scholl, her brother Hans and their friend Christop Probst, all
pictured here, were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.

At
her execution only a few hours later, Scholl made this final
statement: "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when
there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a
righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what
does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened
and stirred to action?"

White
Rose pamphlets and biographical sketches of members.

Following
the deaths of the White Rose's leaders, their final leaflet was
smuggled to England. In mid-1943, Allied Forces dropped millions of
copies of the "Manifesto of the Students of Munich" over
Germany. Scholl is now honoured as one of the great German heroes who
actively opposed the Nazi regime.

In
20015 the movie Sophie Scholl: The Final Days was made it stared
Julia Jentsch as Sophie, there has also been a couple of books about
her written. Many schools as well as countless streets and squares in
Germany have been named after Sophie and her brother.

Copies
of White Rose pamphlets have been embedded in the pavement of
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz outside the central hall of
Ludwig-Maximilian University.

The last words she uttered, gave me gooseflesh when I read them just now, Jo-Anne. What a remarkably brave young woman to have unflinchingly stuck by her convictions against all the odds. Her courage deserves to be remembered and so thank you, for having taken the time to research her story and share it with us. I had not heard of her, or their White Rose movement. Such bravery is rare and lacking in this world of ours today, but by your shining a light on stories such as Sophie's, we can be inspired to try harder in our own way when we see injustice manifesting itself all around us. In highlighting her life, you are helping her to be remembered, so that her death was not in vain.